buy custom Western Civilization essay

buy custom Western Civilization essay The ancient Babylon civilization was a great step for mankind to come together in the fertile land of the gulf, traversing through the Valley of Euphrates River also covering the land of the present day Iraq and Iran. The fertile land and water inspired settlement for agriculture that supported other trade and commerce activities that led to the creation of ancient city of Babylon. The race of the Turanians are responsible for the development and progress that come to be known Babylon, while the Mediterranean regions that entails the Black sea and the Caspian seas served as cradle home land for the Semites and Aryans, further South existed the Hamite race civilization region of Egypt (Demirdjian 2). The valley of Euphrates provided an ideal environment for human civilization. The ancient people were farmers and kept cattle and therefore there was a need for plenty of grass and fertile land for agriculture besides a sustainable water supply point. The Euphrates Rivers source was located in the vast mountains of Armenia whose highest peak is Mount Ararat whereby the rivers tributaries arose and trickled down. During summer, the rover flooded down from the mountains with tones of fertile volcanic soil that was deposited in the Valley of Euphrates. People built ditches and canals that were used to irrigate the land such that food production was done all year round (Demirdjian 3). Personal, I would have built a series of dykes and dams that would hold back the flooding water for production of hydro power besides providing water for irrigation. The entire Gulf of Persia would have become an exporting zone for tropical fruits and food as well as other commercial crops. Since Babylon was a merchant centre, I would have increased the opulence of trade and commerce by leasing out land to captured tribes if the local Babylonians were satisfied with the production since there was enough fertile land that would have been used to colonize the hot Arabian land that was always in need of food and clean water. The ancient Babylon sprang from the Sumerian civilization that has existed for thousands of years. Wheat an other cereals were cultivated in ancient Sumerian kingdom before 4500 B.C. Agricultural selection of the best hybrids of grass like cereals enhanced the development of food security. Further, high production of cereals enhanced the development of Mesopotamia that became Babylon once it was consolidated by King Sargon the great (Demirdjian 3). The First known men who organized the kingdom into a viable government was Nimrod the Great who is famed for constructing the great tower of Babel and King Sargon who used his power to unite the Sumerian under the Akkaddian kingdom with one language. Language acted as a cementing factor that allowed the kingdom to concentrate in agricultural, commerce and trade ways of life and a few time battles to remain relevant in the old savage world. Equally, existence of city states across Mesopotamia enhanced the development of Babylon. Each of the city states was remained self-sufficient and sustained by its produce and military affairs. The river provided a good transportation option for farmers and city states. Roads and inlets were built by the city states to spur development and movement of tradable gods and produce. Therefore when King Sargon consolidated the Kingdom, he only created unified political criteria that allowed the former Mesopotamia Sumerians to identify themselves as one nation though the leadership of city states remained irrelevant after the unification. Radically, in order to construct a lasting kingdom or empire there is a need for democratic space while the government takes a keen eye in building a strong defense an offense force. Therefore, King Sargon would have retained the autonomy of city states within Mesopotamia but his rule to use one language was a commendable action that allowed the city state to integrate as one huge Babylon kingdom. Eventually, Sumeria was absorbed into Babylon i n 2340 B.C., the inclusion of the Sumerian mathematics, writing methods and record keeping options become a backbone for development whereby King Hammurabi used the writing technique to draft laws (Texas AM University 3-4). The drafter and written law that come to be known as the codee of Hammurabi is among the ancient coded laws that organized the society politically, socially, and economically accountable for all its deeds. In the code of Hammurabi, there are specific rules and regulations that have to be changed in order to make out democracy in Babylon. For instance false evidence bearing was a discouraged vice in the law. Therefore, a judge was also liable if a witness bore false evidence that resulted in conviction or death of another. However, the law stood as bureaucratic code of conduct that disallowed the judge from altering judgment after giving a verdict. Instead, the law should have allowed people to witness cases, and a jury be appointed to examine the evidence every time there was a need before a verdict was reached. Therefore, personal I would have allowed space for an appeal in which even the Judge could consider the case from all angles. Equally, the code remained oppressive to the ignorant who received goods and stolen produce without knowledge of the source of the goods; If a man has stolen goods from a temple, or house, he shall be put to death; and he that has received the stolen pro perty from him shall be put to death (Hammurabi 6). The code of Hammurabi remained gender sensitive to the extent that women were treated as less equals to men. For example, the law allowed the state to prosecute and drown an adulterous woman while nothing happened to the man responsible. The most predominant culture in the code of Hammurabi is the revenge whereby if a man hit another mans wife and as a consequence, the aggressor mans daughter was killed to avenge (Hammurabi 209-210). However, the code maintained a social outlook than todays laws by allowing a woman to receive enough portions for her up keeping after a divorce (Hammurabi 142). In conclusion, the kingdom of Babylon was organized politically through laws and guidelines that streamline family life, society, trade, and commerce such that expansion of trade and facilitating of democratic justice were the only lacking virtues of the ancient kingdom. Buy custom Western Civilization essay